


The Right Persuasion

by SeekingSelkies



Category: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Agnes is Lady Russell because I have an appalling sense of humour, Aziraphale is Anne Elliott and Crowley is Wentworth, Getting Together, Human AU, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oh there will be pining, also because I'm certain Anathema ships Crowley and Aziraphale as much as I do, persuasion au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 12:02:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19106695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeekingSelkies/pseuds/SeekingSelkies
Summary: A Persuasion AU where Aziraphale and Crowley were engaged but Agnes Nutter convinced Aziraphale to break it off, and he hasn't seen Crowley for the past eleven years, until he's forced to sell his bookshop to get his father (God) out of debt, and who should buy the shop but Crowley, now a dashing young property developer who can't even look Aziraphale in the eye.I am taking considerable liberties with both of the source materials in question, and very much mashing up the TV Good Omens with the Radio 4 Play and the book.





	The Right Persuasion

**Author's Note:**

> Crowley and Aziraphale don't exactly resemble their TV counterparts in this. I like to picture Aziraphale as Chiwetel Ejiofor.

“You have to sell the bookshop” Gabriel announced, drowning out the faint tinkle of the bell over the shop door. Sandalphon trotted in behind him.

“Sell it! Whatever for?” Aziraphale, who had been hard at work sitting in the corner of said bookshop glowering at potential customers over his glasses, looked up from his taxes with the face of someone who has just been told Armageddon is underway.

“Our Father is in a small amount of debt. Selling the bookshop should be sufficient to keep the house from repossession” Sandalphon replied  
  
“Repossession! Surely there’s another way? Perhaps we could…rent out the house? You could move into a smaller place. Temporarily, I mean” he added in response to the glare from Sandalphon who looked entirely ready to turn him into a pillar of salt.

Gabriel slipped the third, and least beautiful, of Aziraphale’s first edition copies of The Picture of Dorian Gray off a shelf and ran a finger down its lightly dusted spine. He sucked in his teeth.

“Yeahhhh. We’re not going to do that, Aziraphale”

Gabriel was one of these people who you were never quite convinced actually remembered your name, and only used it as a means of reinforcing his superiority, although Aziraphale couldn’t quite figure out how that was supposed to work.  
  
“You can’t! This is my life’s work!”

“When was the last time you actually sold anything?” Sandalphon asked, eyeing up a shelf housing his collection of Infamous Bibles.

Aziraphale stared the accusatory numbers in his accounts book, reminding him that he hadn’t actually received any money for anything in the shop for the past six months. Although…

“Last week!” He exclaimed triumphantly, remembering a stack of Jeffrey Archer books that smelt of something sinister he had sold the previous Tuesday. It was one of the rare occasions he was glad to see a book leave his shop.  
  
His brothers expressions, Gabriel’s smug, Sandalphon’s blank, told him this wasn’t enough.

“Really, Gabriel, I’m certain we don’t have to take measures as drastic as this. Surely it’s just a matter of Our Father cutting down on certain things-”

“-I’ve already spoken to some potential buyers” Gabriel cut in “This place doesn’t fit with the neighbourhood. I’ve got some very interested parties willing to bring it into the modern age”

“Doesn’t fit with the neighbourhood? For God’s sake! You do remember that this shop has been in our family since time immemorial? It’s not the shop that doesn’t fit the neighbourhood, it’s all of these soulless coffee shops and banks and whatever else it is that’s all the rage these days. Business has been slow lately, but I can make some changes! I’ll start a book club, or something. Or buy in some of those books the young people like, I’ll-”

“Let it go, Aziraphale. We’re selling it. That’s the end of it” Gabriel snapped.

His brothers turned to leave

“Gabriel. Sandalphon. _Please_ ” his deep brown eyes brimmed with the desperation of someone who has pinned all their earthly hopes on dreams on one thing, which is moments away from being ripped away from him. Gabriel took two steps towards the door, looking back at Aziraphale with a self-righteous expression

“Would you rather see Our Father cast out of his home? At his age? I can’t believe you’d be so selfish, Aziraphale”

“No, no, of course not, I just, surely as a family we can think of somethi-“

“We have. We’re selling the bookshop”

Gabriel tossed the copy of Dorian Gray to his brother, who was too dazed to catch it, and walked out, leaving the faint tinkle of bells behind him.


End file.
